Malaysian Indians: Looking Forward

What is the truth about the status of the real Malaysian Indian community today? Is it true that despite its considerable sacrifice and contribution to the development of the country, it has become a marginalised community?

The aim of this publication are to provide a perspective on the present reality of the Malaysian Indians community, and to postulate a future perspective should present trends continue. It is hoped that the data and analysis presented here will go some way in providing the basis for concerned parties and researchers:

to better understand the present position and future prospects of the Indian community in the Malaysian polity;

to analyse the causes of present problems and sources of future changes;

to formulate long-term policies, plans and programmes to ensure that Malaysian Indians remain a viable community in this multi-ethnic nation.

It is also hoped that the result of the statistics and analyses given here will also deal with the question – or the challenge – posed to Malaysian Indians, that is, to establish whether the problems faced by Malaysian Indians are real or imagined and, if real, whether the sources and causes of these problems are endogenous or exogenous to the community.